RoweReviews
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me

Get Out (2016) - Jordan Peele

2/24/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Jordan Peele's Get Out is a brilliant piece of genre filmmaking, a film that cohesively blends horror sensibilities with its pointed social commentary about cultural assimilation and race relations, delivering a film which manages to thrill while simultaneously raising poignant questions about the African American experience in the United States.  Centered around Chris Washington, a young African-American photographer, Jordan Peele's Get Out chronicles the exploits of this young man as he is roped into visiting his Caucasian girlfriend's family in upstate New York, as the couple has officially reached the 'meet-the-parents' milestone in their relationship.  On his arrival, Chris is greeted in an overly accommodating manner by his Rose's family, behavior which Chris attributes to nerves related to their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend unfolds, a series of increasingly bizarre and disturbing occurrences begin to present themselves, with Chris slowly coming to the realization that he himself may be in great danger, due to the color of his skin.  From a horror perspective alone, Jordan Peele's Get Out is a twisted, psychological horror film that keeps the viewer intrigued for much of its running time, but where the film excel is its uncomfortable deconstruction of white liberalism in America, where accommodating pleasantries and special treatment mask the underlying racism which exists.  Get Out is fixated on exhibiting how the most dangerous threats of racism tend to be the most indirect ones, detailing how Rose's family, a rich, upper-class white family from upstate New York, couldn't be more cordial and inviting to her African American girlfriend, with their racism lurking much more in the shadows. Coming from a VERY 'blue state' and I don't think this is a coincidence, the family members of Rose's family couldn't be more inviting and cordial, but reading between the lines of their kind words reveals an underlying racism, one in which Chris' identity is completely defined by the color of his skin.  Many of these characters, while kind in their words, speak in Chris in a manner in which they view all black people as one in the same, with perhaps Get Out's greatest attribute being its ability to capture the collective mindset.  All of these individuals view Chris with this collectivist mindset, defining him via their preconceived notions, placing him in the same narrow-minded box which all African American's fit for them, defining him by his skin as opposed to his own individual attributes, like his photography, which is relatively ignored by white suburbia, who can't seem to get enough of his physical attributes.  These characters by-and-large are far more interested in signaling their virtue and "progressive" ways of thinking as opposed to getting to know Chris as an individual, and as the film progresses it becomes clear that this is due to their desire for assimilation into their way of life.  This is where the convergence of the horror narrative and the social commentary adhere beautifully, as in the back-half of the film it becomes apparent that Rose's family, quite literally, is attempting to assimilate Chris into their way of life through psychological manipulation, and eventually fantasy-horror type brain transfer, with the film racing towards its thrilling conclusion.  Chris is routinely complimented for his physique or 'good genetics", but rarely for his photography or general personality traits that make him distinct as an individual, with it becoming clear that Chris is only valuable and accepted by these members in this community if he assimilates and accepts their rules.  Get Out uses a fun, thrilling horror narrative to comment on the deconstruction of black culture in America, where mainstream white culture, mostly led by liberals as opposed to conservatives throughout American History, has made it hard for minority groups, specifically African-Americans, to maintain their own, individual culture.  Get Out isn't about politics per se, it's about the individualism, as Chris throughout the narrative is routinely identified by the color of his skin, as opposed to his own individual interests and personality.  Jordan Peele's Get Out is thrilling, funny, and socially poignant, a rare peace of filmmaking that manages to deliver both populice thrills while also touching on some deeper seeded social issues as it relates to race and culture in the United States of America.  

Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Love of all things cinema brought me here.  

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me